| PSYCHICS AND MAGIC
Many people are under the impression that God gives the gift of clairvoyance, fortunetelling, and things like these. Some feel it is a gift of prophecy -- one of the gifts of the spirit (1 Corinthians 14:1, Romans 12:6). Others just simply believe God endowed them with a special gift to use for helping others. This page is devoted to seeing what the bible says about these matters. And please remember: Test all teachings with scripture. To begin with, the bible states that Yahweh will never give us bad gifts nor try us with sinful actions (Luke 11:11-13, James 1:13). On that note, we can see that the Bible repeatedly tells us we are not to use fortunetelling, clairvoyance, magic spells, omens, spirit mediums, sorcerers, diviners, or those who speak with the dead (Leviticus 19:26, 31, Deuteronomy 18:10-12). These scriptures show that people who do these things are destestable to Yahweh. Because of the broad list in these scriptures, this would include that we refrain from tarot cards, ouija boards, crystal balls, horoscopes, numerology, palmistry, seances, voodoo, shamans, sorcerers, conjurers, and other similar things. Granted, these were things of the Law Code that Christ's sacrifice replaced and thus we are no longer under that law. However, the spirit of the Law Code is still in effect, as shown in scriptures such as Acts 19:19, Galatians 5:14, and Revelation 22:15. Since God doesn't give us evil, it stands to reason that He won't give the gift of fortunetelling and sorcery. However, we must understand that fortunetelling and prophecy are not the same things: The bible also shows that those who became true believers turned away from their magic practicing and soothsaying (Acts 19:18-20). The bible also shows the error of following a supposed prophet or psychic that attempts to lead us away from true worship (Deuteronomy 13:1-5). The practice of spiritism, magic, and psychic powers are all designed by Satan to detract from our personal relationship with Yahweh. We say this because it leads us to search for guidance and answers from humans or other sources, not God Himself. Remember, the bible says we are not to put all our trust in mortal men (Psalms 118:8-9, Psalms 146:3, Jeremiah 17:5), and that we are to cling to God instead (Psalms 9:10, Proverbs 3:5, Isaiah 26:4, Jeremiah 17:7). Men will be found in error, though God will always be found true. Therefore, we need to remove ourselves from Satan's trap of this kind of trickery, and rely solely on God for our guidance. |